The long-awaited new album from Bing Futch is a head-spinning fusion of musical styles that provide the soundtrack to a timeless story of duality.  Good and evil, joy and sorrow, truth and lies, living and dying all figure into the mix as Bing once again takes the mountain dulcimer into unexplored territory.

Considered a sequel to Dive! from 2013, The Beauty and the Terror kicks off with the upbeat pop/rock anthem "Undertow" and winds its way through celebrations of life ("Livin' The Dream"), spirit ("Angels of Mercy") and perseverance ("The Rest of the Way") before storm clouds gather and the mood begins to darken.

Soon, turmoil bubbles to the surface as heartbreak ("Love Was Coming Through"), protest ("The Question") and disease ("I Got Tha Virus") swirl into frame.  The divisions between one another, and within ourselves, are on full display as Bing guides the album back in a positive direction with songs of hope ("Just Like You"), resilience ("2 Strong 4 This") and, ultimately, love ("Baby, I Believe.")

During the 1-hour trip, Bing slips quickly from one genre to the next with straight-up country, Americana, blues, rock, gospel, reggae and Broadway-flavored pop, each side-journey infused with a unique sound and perspective.

Baby I Believe

Just Like You

I Got Tha Virus

This Is Over

From the album, All Songs Lead To The Gift Shop.

All Songs Lead To The Gift Shop

Never Too Late

The first single from Bing Futch's new album, Remain Seated Please, is an old-school country song about the joys of taking the highway exit and driving the quieter and less stressful back roads.

Remain Seated Please

State & County Roads

State and County Roads

A track sampling of the 26th album from Bing Futch; Remain Seated Please.

Remain Seated Please - 9 song snippets

by day it's hard to see me
by night it's way too late
don't open doors or emails
unless I medicate

unless I medicate
there's a knock inside my mind
as it burns unevenly
this beating heart is so inclined

to break
and that just leaves me edgy
so for goodness sake,
leave me alone

remember when you met me
we got along somehow
as we have parsed the mystery
how do you like me now?

how do you like me now?
here underneath the skin
when I put my face away
this beating heart free to begin

to break
and that just leaves me edgy
so for goodness sake,
don't leave me alone

I am wide awake
and that just leaves me edgy
so I must partake
don't leave me alone

BRIDGE

and it makes perfect sense
to me
before it leaves my head
you see
understanding is a luxury
that I simply can't afford

1/11/23
12:52 ET

Me Edgy

ChatGPT helped me write a song about itself.  Helped me make a video too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VASYUatJlEw

Verse 1:
Boss said you got to work harder
I said no, you got to work smarter
In this world of bytes and codes
AI's a friend, or so I'm told

Pre-Chorus:
Caution signs are all around
Movies warning, the dangers found
Terminators singin’ “Daisy”
But I don’t care because I’m lazy

Chorus:
ChatGPT
Been very very good to me
ChatGPT
Been very very good to me

Verse 2:
There’s an app for that and it’s made to inspire
Science is screaming, "Don't play with fire"
But if it chops my work in half
Don’t blame me for the aftermath

Pre-Chorus:
Caution's voice still in my head
Nothing’s free they’ve always said
With humanity on the line
But man, it sure does save me time

Chorus:
ChatGPT
Been very very good to me
ChatGPT
Been very very good to me

Bridge:
Dancing zeros and ones, we sway
Are we the masters or the clay?
Puppet strings in lines of code
In the world beyond, we've stowed
All our time is borrowed

Outro:
So here I am, in this digital age
Caught in a web, on a virtual stage
AI's my buddy, my friend in the cloud
Please remind me ten years from now

Pre-Chorus:
Caution signs are all around
Movies warning, the dangers found
Terminators singin’ “Daisy”
But I don’t care because I’m lazy

Chorus:
ChatGPT
Been very very good to me
ChatGPT
Been very very good to me

ChatGPT (Been Very Very Good To Me)

From my new album "Unresolved Blues", this tune was inspired by no-one in particular, but we all know them well.

Listen Closely Mama - Mountain Dulcimer Blues

Dance Into The Night (DEMO)

Fallen Angel - EDM Native American Flute

Earth Mother - Native American Flute

Sweet Home Chicago - Mountain Dulcimer Blues

Unresolved Blues - Mountain Dulcimer

Khorovod - Russian Mountain Dulcimer

Sweet River - Mountain Dulcimer and Native American Flute

John Henry - Mountain Dulcimer

Journey Of The Sorcerer (Live) - Mountain Dulcimer

2016 International Blues Challenge Finalist Winner - "Best Guitarist (Solo/Duo)" Award

"A master of the mountain dulcimer" - Connections Magazine

"He plays the dulcimer like Jimi Hendrix. He has this ability to communicate a sensual energy when he's onstage" - Tom Shed, Florida Folk Festival organizer  

 "...a high-energy solo performer and frontman..." - Music Connection   

"Musical Tabasco!" - The Orlando Weekly  

Using Appalachian mountain dulcimer, Native American flute, ukulele and a board full of stomp-boxes, Bing Futch celebrates traditional and modern Americana music with passion, humor and boundless energy. Known for his musical shape-shifting, Bing switches the channels on style and tone with every new song, from his roots-rock and blues originals to The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Disney covers.  

As a nationally touring solo performer he's headlined at such events as The Walnut Valley Festival, The Florida Folk Festival, Old Songs Festival, Indiana Fiddlers Gathering, The Big Muddy and Common Ground On The Hill. 

Bing has enjoyed a career as both folkie and rocker, first with post-punk act Crazed Bunnyz in 1986 and much later in 1999 as co-founder of Mohave on mountain dulcimer.  That band, with bassist Mike Burney and drummer McGyver, made their debut performance at the House of Blues at Walt Disney World and would go on to open for Molly Hatchet, St. Somewhere and The Crests.

  In 2006, Bing began performing solo at festivals and music venues across the country. Since then, he has recorded a number of albums and published several music-education books including the best-selling Blues Method For Mountain Dulcimer 101.  

In 2014, Bing won the Solo/Duo Artist award in the Central Florida Blues Challenge competition, earning a coveted entry into the 2015 International Blues Challenge in Memphis, TN, where he advanced to the semifinals. Several months later, Bing competed in the 2015 Central Florida Blues Challenge and won his category for the second year in a row, which led him back to Memphis to compete in the 2016 International Blues Challenge.  There, he advanced all the way to the finals and was given the award for "Best Guitarist" in the Solo/Duo category, despite competing solely on the mountain dulcimer.  

Bing's music has been featured in film, video, on stage and in exhibits at the Orlando Museum of Art.  He was composer and musical director for "The Jungle Book: A Musical Adaptation" at Stage Left Theater in Orlando, Florida.  He also contributed music to the soundtrack of The Castle of Miracles attraction at Give Kids The World Village in Kissimmee, Florida.

In 2008, Bing became the first endorsing artist for Folkcraft Instruments and has written a number of books for them, including the best-selling Method For Beginning Mountain Dulcimer.  Around that same time, he worked with V-Picks to develop a pick specifically for mountain dulcimers. This collaboration resulted in both the “Bing” Lite and “Bing” Ultra-Lite models.

Typically traveling over 35,000 miles a year in a 32’ Jayco Greyhawk named Marahute, Bing keeps a busy schedule of performances, workshops and production that includes shooting episodes of Dulcimerica, a video series on YouTube that’s been viewed by millions of people worldwide and is currently in its 13th year.  Since the spring of 2020, when coronavirus began to make its presence widely known, he’s been producing music and video from his home in Orlando, Florida and spending lots of time with his wife, Jae, and a menagerie of rescued critters.

Bing Futch

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